Super Smash Bros - Shadow Wire
by Yuzuru's-Angel
Summary: It's been many years since the Subspace Emissary invasion. Now, the trophies have returned to doing what they do best: Fighting. However, a large army of Wire-Frame clones is unleashed upon the World of Trophies, seemingly unbeatable. Now, an unlikely group of fighters must gather some newcomers to help fight the invaders. Just who is behind all of this? (Smash 4 Hypeeeeeee!)
1. Chapter One - The Arrival

**Super Smash Bros**

**Shadow Wire**

_**Hey hey hey! With hype building for the new Super Smash Bros game in just a few months, I've decided to write a fic for it!**_

_**(This fic includes characters confirmed for the new game, as well as characters that were removed from previous games!)**_

_**(Some moves used by characters are just things I'd like for them to have. Most will be moves that already exist though!)**_

_**Main Characters: Jigglypuff, Lucas, Little Mac, Lucina, Palutena, Roy. (All characters will likely be included, these are just the mains.)**_

_**Please Read, Review, and ENJOY!~**_

* * *

**Chapter One**

**The Arrival**

* * *

The Midair Stadium was quiet, though hundreds of pairs of eyes stared down at its center stage, eagerly awaiting what was to come. The two cannons on either side of the stage slowly turned, facing towards the middle.

"Ready," came an empowering voice over the speakers that echoed through the stadium. "3... 2... 1... Go!"

_Bang!_ The cannons shot at the same time, sending out two trophies towards the center of the stage. They landed perfectly on their bases, sliding towards the middle, beginning to glow. The light grew brighter and brighter, and, once it cleared, two fighters stood, facing each other.

Mewtwo and Lucario.

Many cheered with delight from the audience, specifically for Lucario, who raised his hands and looked around the stadium, taking in the cheers. Mewtwo, on the other hand, stood with his arms crossed, uninterested, staring at Lucario.

"_Whenever you are prepared,_" Mewtwo stated, speaking with his psychic abilities.

Lucario instantly turned to Mewtwo, getting into a battle-ready stance, his legs spread apart, arms raised. They stood there for a few moments, and the crowd hushed, watching as the two fighters stared each other down...

Then, Mewtwo made the first move.

Quickly thrusting his arms forward, Mewtwo sent two waves of psychic energy towards Lucario, who placed a paw on the ground, blasting aura from it to propel himself up and over the blast. Mewtwo followed it up with more and more as Lucario soared overhead. The Aura-Pokemon brought his hands forward, creating a green barrier in front of himself that took the attacks with ease, not faultering.

Lucario landed behind Mewtwo, rushing in to strike him. Mewtwo expertly slid to his right to avoid the assault, then once more to avoid Lucario's follow-up kick, retaliating by bringing his arm forward to hit Lucario with a burst of dark energy. It hit directly, making Lucario slide back a ways, though he didn't hesitate before running back into the fight.

"What an intense match!" The Announcer's words were barely audible over the cheers and cries of the crowd as they watched Lucario continue his assault on Mewtwo, unable to make any contact.

After dodging another of Lucario's incoming palms, Mewtwo spun around, bringing his tail towards Lucario's head, a potentially deadly attack. Luckily, the Aura-Pokemon countered the attack, his image seeming to become static-like as Mewtwo's tail made contact before he vanished completely. Lucario suddenly appeared behind Mewtwo, sliding underneath him and striking his back, making him soar up into the air.

"An amazing counter," the Announcer said. "Mewtwo could be in trouble!"

Lucario leaped into the air with a boost from his aura, not letting up for a moment. However, Mewtwo recovered in mid-air, cupping his hands together, beginning to form a Shadow Ball. Lucario quickly cupped his hands together as well, forming an Aura Sphere. As the gap between them slowly grew closer, their energy spheres grew larger. Finally, Mewtwo thrust the Shadow Ball towards Lucario, and Lucario in-turn sent his Aura Sphere towards him. The two attacks connected, exploding with a glorious purple-and-blue nova, the two Pokemon disappearing within the explosion.

Much of the crowd went wild, while some watched in suspense, wondering who would come out of the explosion.

After a few moments, the light and smoke cleared, and two figures could be seen still standing.

"Unbelievable! They're both still standing strong," the Announcer exclaimed, as the two Pokemon came fully into view, visibly injured, but still standing strong.

"_You are as good as they say,_" Mewtwo stated. Lucario dipped his head for a moment, as if to say, _'As are you'_. "_But we'll how long that lasts._"

Mewtwo pointed up towards the sky. As if on cue, a Smash Ball shot out from one of the Item Cannons near the top of the stage. Lucario looked up in surprise, unprepared. Mewtwo, already knowing it was coming, quickly kicked off of the ground and soared towards it.

"Mewtwo's psychic abilities prove to be unwavering," the Announcer statesd, the crowd watching in awe as Mewtwo ascended toward the rainbow-colored sphere.

Lucario growled, cupping his hands together, creating another Aura Sphere, this one much larger than before, energy spiraling out from its increased power.

"Uh oh! Lucario's aura has grown stronger! But can he hit Mewtwo from that far away?"

The Aura-Pokemon watched Mewtwo soar up towards the Smash Ball as he charged his Aura Sphere. His arms began to tremble from its immense power. Mewtwo's hands began to glow with a dark energy as he grew close, prepared to destroy the sphere...

But, to everyone's surprise. Lucario kicked off of the ground, then shot the Aura Sphere downwards. As it hit the stage, it sent out a shock-wave of energy in every direction, propelling the Aura-Pokemon upwards at an incredible speed. The audience gasped at this, watching Lucario reach the Smash Ball within a few seconds. Mewtwo turned to see what was happened, but he couldn't even register the speed of Lucario as he soared past, striking the Smash Ball, shattering it instantly.

Lucario fell to the stage, landing on his feet, glowing with rainbow-colored energy as he watched Mewtwo slowly descended to the opposite side of the stage.

"Lucario is heavily injured, but this may be the turn-around," the Announcer said as the stadium grew quiet in anticipation.

The Aura-Pokemon brought a paw up to his chest, feeling his heart beating fast. He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing, in-turn slowing his heart-beat to a calm, steady pace.

As Lucario opened his eyes once more, Mewtwo was taken aback by the new-found fire in his eyes. Letting out a furious roar towards the sky, the energy radiating off of Lucario began to shine brightly, enveloping his body as he began to transform. After a few moments, with a swipe of his hand, the light dispersed, revealing his Mega Evolved form.

Though the excitement was building, the crowd remained quiet as the stand-off continued. Mewtwo looked at his adversary, not showing that he was worried.

Lucario, staring his opponent down, slowly walked towards him. Mewtwo tensed up, prepared for his attack...

Then, the Aura-Pokemon stopped. His eyes widened with surprise, and he looked up. The rest of the crowd also looked up, many of them expressing their surprise and disbelief audibly. Mewtwo, cautious, looked up as well...

There, up in the sky, a mysterious, blue cloud of sorts was forming and expanding. It began to disperse, revealing a blue line that opened, revealing a gaping, swirling vortex within.

Lucario looked down at Mewtwo, and the two nodded in understanding. They kicked off of the ground, ascending into the sky, Lucario using his aura to propel himself upward alongside Mewtwo, heading towards the vortex.

Down on the stadium, two fighters jumped onto the stage, looking up in awe. They were the famous plumber brothers, Mario and Luigi. As they gazed up at the vortex, three more fighters joined them. They were three swordsmen: Marth, Roy, and Ike.

"Ehh... And here I was, betting on Mewtwo to win," Roy said, shielding his eyes against the glare of the sun to view the action up in the sky.

"That's irrelevant now," Marth stated. Turning to Mario, he asked, "What do you think of this?" Mario shrugged. "Let's just see how this unfolds..."

The five fighters looked up, watching as Lucario and Mewtwo grew closer and closer to the vortex. The two began to charge their perspective spheres of energy, Lucario's easily five-times as large and powerful as Mewtwo's, much to the Psychic-Pokemon's disdain.

At the same time, the two Pokemon threw their energy towards the vortex, stopping in place, watching as they soared up towards the blue portal...

However, as they reached it, the vortex pulsated, and two figures emerged from it, hitting the energy spheres, creating a shock-wave from their attack as they send the spheres back down at the two Pokemon. They move to the side to avoid them, gazing down at the stage below.

Roy squinted his eyes, eventually making out the two spheres approaching. He gasped. "Run!"

The five fighters scattered, and the crowd became fearful as the energy hit the stage, creating a brilliant explosion that flew well-up into the sky and filled the stadium.

Up above, the Pokemon couldn't worry about what had happened, as they found themselves staring up at the newcomers from the vortex. They quickly realized just who they were...

They were themselves, except much rougher-looking, made up of very few polygons, a single palette of color, blue for Lucario's clone, and pink for Mewtwo's clone.

Lucario's rainbow-glow began to flicker. He looked down at his paws, then over to Mewtwo, who nodded. "_Let us do this quick,_" the Psychic-Pokemon stated.

The two Pokemon propelled themselves up towards their clones, who merely stood there, watching, though they seemed to have no eyes of sorts. Lucario thrust his palm up towards his clone, and Mewtwo did the same-

But their clones held a hand forward and blocked it. As their hits made contact, there was sonic boom around them from the sheer power of the attack. Lucario and Mewtwo looked at them in surprise. The clones grabbed hold of their hands, holding them in-place while they reared back their other hand, channeling a violent surge of energy into it. Lucario and Mewtwo struggled to break free, but the clones' wouldn't budge.

They could only watch helplessly as their clones attacked...

* * *

Down below, in the wreckage of the still-afloat Midair Stadium, the five fighters walked back onto the stage, still a bit dazed from what had happened.

"Is everyone alright?" Marth looked around.

"That was nothing," Ike said, cracking his neck. Mario gave a thumbs up as well, confirming that he was fine.

However, Roy and Luigi fell onto their bums, obviously feeling beaten. "That was too powerful," Roy said, looking at Luigi for confirmation. The green plumber nodded in agreement.

"Wait, something's coming!" Marth unsheathed his sword and prepared. Ike followed suit.

Mario turned to Ike and Luigi. "Let's a' go!" The two fighters nodded, slowly getting up and getting into a battle-ready position beside Mario and the other two warriors.

From the sky, two objects fell. Once they grew close, the fighters realized what they were: Trophies.

Marth leaped up into the air, and Mario followed suit, heading for the trophies. Marth grabbed the falling Mewtwo trophy, while Mario caught the Lucario trophy. They landed back onto their feet, setting the trophies on the ground in front of them.

"No way... They were both defeated?" Roy shook his head.

Luigi waltzed over to the Lucario statue, examining it for a few moments. He then tapped it on the back to revive it... But nothing happened.

Seeing this, Marth tried the same with Mewtwo. "They're not returning to their normal state," Marth said. Luigi let out a '_wahhhhhh'_ at this realization.

"Oh no!" Mario pointed up towards the sky. The fighters looked up to see that the blue void was opening further, growing wider by the moment...

And they watched as hundreds of more figures emerged from it, raining down from the sky.

"Ike... Mario..." Marth turned to the two fighters. "You stick with me. Roy and Luigi, you two get the others out of here."

Ike and Mario nodded, but Roy and Luigi exchanged a reluctant glance.

"Do it!" Marth's commanding voice made them jump. They nodded, going to the two Trophy Cannons on either side of the stage. Marth held his sword at the ready, and Ike and Mario went back-to-back with him, prepared for the fight.

Inside each of the cannons, two more fighters were awaiting their turn to battle. Using all their strength, Roy and Luigi turned the cannons to point outside of the stadium.

"Sorry about this," Roy said, taking out his sword. Enveloping it in flames, he struck the back of the cannon, forcing it to shoot out the two trophies within. He watched as they soared out of the stadium.

Seeing this, Luigi tried to do the same, utilizing his green fireballs, though it was to no prevail. He rubbed his chin, contemplating what to do. He poked, kicked, and karate-chopped the large cannon, only to hurt himself in the process.

"Luigi," Roy called, "Use your head!"

Upon hearing this, Luigi nodded, backing away from the cannon. He squatted down, building up his energy... Then leaped forward, shooting himself like a rocket, an explosion being created in his wake. He slammed his head into the cannon, making it shoot the two trophies out of the stadium, leaving him on the ground, dazed from the hit.

"Agh, I swear..." Roy sighed, ready to go help Luigi, when he noticed that it had gotten darker in the stadium. Looking up, he gasped as he realized why.

The wire-frame clones were upon them.

**To Be Continued...**

**Next Chapter: New Hope**


	2. Chapter Two - New Hope

**Chapter Two**

**New Hope**

* * *

Two trophies, shot out from the Midair Stadium, soared through the air to the east, heading straight for the large Emerald Forest. The inhabitants of the area, most of which were Pokemon, gazed up, watching them as they eventually crashed down near a river-bed.

One of the Pokemon, Pichu, gazed out from a tree with wonder. Then, something caught its eye, and it looked towards the west to see two mysterious, blue lights with trails moving towards the crash site.

"Pichu!" The Electric-Type Pokemon quickly descended from the tree and ran out into the forest, determined to get there before the trophies' hunters.

* * *

Lucas opened his eyes to the blue sky above the Emerald Forest. He sat up, looking around in confusion. _I...I was in the Stadium,_ he thought, remembering that he was due for a fight. Looking around, he noticed another figure on the ground, unmoving.

It was the pink puffball Pokemon, Jigglypuff.

"H-Hey!" Lucas' call received no response. He stood and quickly ran across the riverbed towards the Pokemon. Examining her for a few moments, Lucas reached out to touch her, but backed out, blushing shyly. Thus, he resorted to grabbing a nearby branch and poking her. "Are you alright?"

After a few moments, Jigglypuff seemed to awaken, her eyes opening slowly. She blinked, then her eyes shifted over to Lucas. Upon seeing him, and seeing that she was in an unfamiliar area, Jigglypuff quickly jumped up to her feet, puffing herself out and glaring at Lucas.

"Jiggly-" The pink Pokemon pointed accusingly at Lucas. "Puff!"

Lucas tossed the branch away and held his hands up innocently. "I-I didn't do this... Something must have happened." He looked over towards the Midair Stadium, barely visible in the distance. His mouth gaped in shock as he noticed the large, blue vortex lingering high above it.

Jigglypuff looked that way as well, deflating herself back to normal as she noticed the sight too. However, she also noticed the mysterious blue lights heading their way. She squinted her eyes to make it out better, but quickly realized that it was coming their way at a rapid speed.

The pink Pokemon tapped Lucas' shoulder, pointing towards the lights. Lucas noticed them.

"I don't think that's good sign," Lucas said, taking a step back, fearful. The lights grew closer and closer, their speed seeming to increase. "Run!"

Jigglypuff and Lucas ran in separate directions as the lights descended upon their location. To their surprise, the lights split up at the last second to accommodate, landing in front of the two, cutting them off. As the lights hit the ground, they created a shock-wave that made them tumble back towards each other once more. As Lucas and Jigglypuff recovered, they watched as the smoke from the lights cleared...

And there stood a wire-frame Jigglypuff, and a yellow wire-frame Lucas.

"W-What?" Lucas stared at his faceless clone, and looked over his shoulder at Jigglypuff's clone.

"Puffff!" Jigglypuff became enraged at the sight of her clone, puffing herself up.

The Pink Pokemon ran forward. Seeing this, Lucas turned to her. "Wait!" However, she didn't listen, rushing towards her clone, bringing her arm forward to strike it. The Jigglypuff clone puffed itself out, taking the attack without budging. Jigglypuff's hand seemed to get sucked into the fat of the clone for a moment, before it bounced back out. Lucas stepped forward to help, but his clone suddenly appeared at his side, leaving fiery skid-marks on the ground from his quick movement, and slammed his back-hand across Lucas' head, sending him flying into the nearby trees.

The Lucas clone nodded to the other clone before turning and walking over to where Lucas had flown off to. Jigglypuff backed away slowly from her clone, a worried expression on her face.

"**Do not restist,**" the clone said in a surprisingly deep-toned, robotic voice. "**We... love... the trophies.**" As it spoke, its voice seemed to become choppy, as though it wasn't programmed very well.

Jigglypuff didn't approve of this, glaring at the clone. She curled her arms and legs to make herself completely rounded, and began to spin in place. As Jigglypuff's spinning grew faster and faster, sparks began to fly around her from the friction.

"**Resistance... is death,**" the clone stated, staring down the Pokemon. "**Do not-**"

Before it could finish, Jigglypuff shot forward at an incredible speed, sparks flying all around her. She slammed straight into the clone with such force that it began to slide back as the Pokemon pushed against it...

However, it never lost its balance, and, after sliding back a ways, Jigglypuff's spinning began to cease. The clone took advantage of this, grabbing hold of Jigglypuff, stopping her in place, then tossing her up into the air.

Jigglypuff looked down at her clone, watching as it raised a hand, producing a spherical, purple device of sorts. The clone threw it up at Jigglypuff, who closed its eyes, prepared...

_Bam!_ Suddenly, a figure leaped onto the scene, right in front of Jigglypuff, punching the device with such immense power that it was sent right back to the clone in an instant. The device hit the clone, and suddenly dispersed into a dark-purple aura, enveloping the wire-frame and seemingly devouring it, until it was no more.

Jiggly puff fell to the ground, looking at the unfamiliar person. They were wearing a pink hoodie, and had green boxing-gloves on their hands.

"Seemed like you were in trouble," the person spoke. His voice was fairly deep, but it was oddly calming. He turned to Jigglypuff, taking off his hood, revealing his tanned skin and jet-black hair that was spiked only at the front-right. "Where'd the other one go?"

Jigglypuff turned and pointed towards the forest, where the downed trees were.

"Alright, let me do this," the boxer spoke, cracking his neck as he walked towards it. "The name's Mac by the way-"

"Little Mac."

* * *

Lucas was running for his life through the Emerald Forest, constantly looking over his shoulder to see if the clone was still close... However, this proved to be his downfall as he eventually tripped over a branch that he couldn't see, and tumbled forward.

As Lucas recovered, wincing at his scraped knees, he turned, seeing that his clone was standing there, staring at him.

"G-get back!" Lucas held his right pointer-finger forward, and it began to shine. "I don't wanna fight..."

"**Do not resist,**" the clone spoke, slowly walking towards him. "**Do not fight.**" Lucas slowly backed away from the approaching clone, who extended its arm out to him...

Suddenly, from the trees, a bolt of lightning shot out. The Lucas clone quickly deflected it with a swipe of its hand, and turned its head towards the source. Lucas looked up as well, seeing the small, yellow-and-black Pokemon Pichu up in the tree.

"Piiiichu!" The Electric-Type Pokemon stuck its tongue out at the clone.

The Lucas clone turned towards Pichu, cupping its hands together. Pichu tilted its head, watching with interest. Lucas, however, knew what he was doing, and quickly ran forward. Just as the clone brought its hands forward and shot out a large PK Fire towards Pichu, Lucas jumped into the way, using his PSI Magnet ability to absorb it, though the power of the blast still sent him back into the tree, going straight through it. As the tree fell, Pichu quickly jumped off of it, landing on the ground and rolling out of the way of the tree as it fell.

Pichu let out a sigh of relief, but it was short-lived as the Lucas clone suddenly grabbed hold of him by the tail, lifting him up into the air.

"Chuuu!" Pichu struggled to get away, eventually resorting to charging up its electricity and unleashing it all around. After a few moments however, it stopped, exhausted after doing nothing to the clone and doing a bit of damage to itself.

The clone created one of the purple devices in its hand and brought it towards Pichu. Lucas, who was still on the ground in a daze, looked up, watching as his clone placed the device on Pichu. The small Pokemon cried out as the purple mist enveloped him, shrouding him. After a moment, it vanished, and Pichu was left in its trophy form.

"**Side objective complete,**" the clone stated, then turning its head to Lucas. "**Main objective in sight.**"

Lucas tried to get up, but found himself unable to, feeling weakened from the attacks he had taken. He eventually managed to get up onto his feet, but it was too late, as the clone was upon him, reaching out to him with a new device in its hands...

That was when the pink hoodie-wearing boxer arrived on the scene, appearing crouched in front of the clone in a flash, taking it and Lucas by surprise.

Little Mac let out a heart roar as he brought his right arm up, delivering a powerful uppercut to the Lucas clone, hitting it straight in the chin. For a moment, the clone didn't budge, seemingly taking the blow easily... Then, the power of Little Mac's punch seemed to settle in, sending it flying up into the sky, leaving a trail of smoke behind it.

Lucas watched in awe as the clone vanished among the clouds above. Little Mac turned to him, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Phew, thhat took a lot of power," he said.

Jigglypuff bounded over onto the scene, smiling at Lucas. "Jiggly!~" She seemed delighted that Lucas was alright.

"T-Thank you," Lucas said shyly to Little Mac, dipping his head.

Jigglypuff looked over towards the Pichu trophy that was lying over beside a nearby tree. She walked over to it and tapped it on the tail. Nothing happened. "Puff?" She tilted herself in confusion, and tapped it a few more times.

Little Mac and Lucas joined Jigglypuff, staring down at the trophy. "It's not coming back?" Little Mac tapped the trophy with his gloved hand. "Hmm..."

"W-What do we do?" Lucas looked up at Little Mac for confirmation.

"This isn't any of my business, I was just looking for where I could redeem this invitation," Little Mac told them, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a letter that had the clear, circular marking similar to that of a Smash Ball.

"...You're a new fighter?"

"Yeah, I heard there's some tough ones here, so I thought I'd test myself," Little Mac said, punching his gloves together. "Though it seems a bit dreary here right now."

Lucas and Jigglypuff pointed over towards the Midair Stadium. Little Mac turned, gazing up at it. The blue vortex had grown a bit larger since they had looked at it. The Midair Stadium itself seemed to be falling apart, as debris could be seen floating down from it.

Little Mac whistled. "Guess I came at the wrong time," he said, rubbing the back of his head with his glove. "Guess I'll swing by another ti-"

The boxer stopped speaking as a roar echoed through the forest, making the trees all around them rustle from its wake. The three looked all around, questioning where it had come from.

"...Just what is this place?" Little Mac looked down at Lucas this time for confirmation.

"I-It's not safe here," Lucas said, a worried expression on his face.

"Puff..." Jigglypuff moved back to be closer to the two, knowing exactly what was coming...

Through the trees, something large approached them. They all faced it, tensing up, Lucas and Jigglypuff preparing themselves, afraid. Little Mac calmly got into a boxing stance, ready...

But he wasn't ready for what greeted them. A large, green, snake-like Pokemon smashed through the trees, sending their fragments towards them. Lucas moved in front of Jigglypuff and used his PSI Magnet to absorb some of the tree pieces, while Little Mac expertly jabbed them away. The Pokemon quickly brought one of its claws towards them, up at the level of Little Mac's head, but the boxer expertly rolled out of the way as the claw went right over the heads of Jigglypuff and Lucas.

"What is this thing?!"

Lucas and Jigglypuff quickly moved over to Little Mac's side once more, staring up at the large, green Pokemon that was eyeing them menacingly.

"R-Rayquaza," Lucas explained. "This is-"

"His forest!"

* * *

**To be continued...**

**Next Chapter: Four Swords**


	3. Chapter Three - Four Swords

**Chapter Three**

**Four Swords**

* * *

Lucina had witnessed the entire event as it transpired at the Midair Stadium. She watched from her seat, a cloak draped over herself to remain unnoticed, as the epic battle transpired between Lucario and Mewtwo...

When the two Pokemon were later defeated by the mysterious newcomers, Lucina was one of the few who still remained in the stands, her cloak tattered and torn from the earlier explosion, the only thing concealing her identity now being her mask. She slowly drew her sword, gazing up at the scene up above.

Hundreds of figures began leave the vortex, descending upon the stadium. On the stage, Roy looked up in awe at their descent.

"Get Luigi!" Marth's call snapped Roy out of his trance. He nodded, quickly rushing over to the green plumber's side.

"Luigi? You alright? You gotta get up," Roy said, placing a hand on Luigi's shoulder. The big-nosed plumber nodded in understanding, recovered enough from his daze to stand. "Maybe you should sit this one out."

Luigi shook his head, jumping up to his feet and getting into a battle-ready pose... Though, as soon as he noticed the attackers up above, he instantly became frightened. "Oh no..."

"Let's go," Marth said to Mario and Ike, who nodded. The three leapt into the air, greeting the wire-frames that were descending upon them. Roy turned, watching in amazement as they sprung into faction.

_They're so cool!_ Roy thought. However, with the wire-frames now easy to depict, Roy realized that they were taking on the appearances of the fighters in the stadium. _Mario, Marth, Ike, Luigi, and me..._ He drew his sword, looking over at Luigi who was still frightened.

"Come on Luigi," he said, running forward and leaping into the air, not even waiting for the plumber. Luigi, not wanting to be alone, scrambled forward and followed suit.

The first three fighters made contact with the wire-frames. A red Mario wire-frame came in to intercept the plumber, attempting a downward punch, which Mario expertly dodged, retaliating with a kick. His attack did no visible damage, so Mario kicked off of the clone to go towards another, this one orange and mocking the appearance of Roy. The wire-frame couldn't react before he delivered a powerful punch to his face, sending the wire-frame sailing out of the stadium.

Marth and Ike locked into a struggle with two of their clones, their blades clashing with them. In that moment, they noticed what Mario had done, and realized what to do.

_Fight everyone but yourself!_ They thought.

Marth and Ike quickly switched clones, slicing in an x-shape in front of each other, cutting right through the wire-frames which vanished into a purple mist. A few more of their clones descended towards them, so they feinted them, pretending to face off with their own clones before quickly grasping each other by the arm and spinning in the air, swapping places, their blades slicing forth to destroy the wire-frames.

Roy found himself facing off with one of his clones, slicing at it furiously, but to no avail. Finally, the clone grabbed hold of his blade as he swung it, and threw him down to the ground, falling towards him, sword ready to imaple him...

Luckily, Luigi came in with drop-kick, sending the Roy clone straight into the ruined stands. He landed beside Roy on the stage, and gave him a thumbs up.

"Thanks," Roy told him, standing and getting ready for more.

The other three fighters landed back onto the stage, and were instantly surrounded by more and more clones, some of which fell off into the pit below due to the lack of room on the stage. The three moved back-to-back, while Roy and Luigi inched closer to the edge of the stage, fearfully watching the clones approach them.

"**Do not fear what is to come,**" the clones all said in unison in the same, deep, robotic voice that echoed throughout the stadium.

"What the hell are these things?" Ike's eyes shifted around. "And why are they like us?"

"Somebody's been planning this assault," Marth stated. "It's just like last time..."

"Except it's not like last time," came a new voice. The five all looked towards the eastern-part of the stadium, where Lucina stood on the edge, sword drawn. She reached up to her face with her free hand and took off her dark-blue mask. "Because I am here!"

"Who is that?" Roy stared at the unfamiliar girl with a hint of a blush on his face. Luigi looked at Roy and raised an eyebrow at him. Noticing this, Roy cleared his throat and looked away, blushing a bit harder.

"You are..." Marth looked the girl over, seeing an eerie similarity to himself. "Lucina?"

All of the wire-frame clones turned to the newcomer. "**Not in registry... Recalibrating...**" The eyes of the clones began to glow as they analyzed Lucina.

Seizing this opportunity, the fighters on the stage leaped into action. Roy delivered several quick slashes to some nearby clones of Mario and Luigi, burning them to a crisp with his flames. Luigi grabbed hold of one of his clones, tossing it up into the air, then leaping up and dive-kicking it into some more of the wire-frames. Mario spun rapidly through the horde, hitting them hard with his arms, sending them flying off into the pit below the stage. Marth and Ike, back-to-back, began to slash and hack through the clones.

The wire-frames, snapping out of their trance, instantly turned on the fighters, grabbing hold of them, mobbing them. The fighters struggled, trying to fight them off, but it was to no avail as their clones over-powered them, dragging them down to the floor. The fighters could only watch as the purple spherical devices were brought towards them...

_Shing! Shing! Shing!_ In the blink of an eye, Lucina had leaped onto the stage, running to the other end, slicing straight through the wire-frames. The clones paused for a moment, sliced in several places, before falling apart and dissipating into purple mist. The fighters quickly got up, looking around in surprise.

She had defeated all of them in one fell-swoop!

"Wow! But, you know, you could've done that earlier," Roy exclaimed.

"I was waiting until I had a clear shot at all of them," Lucina stated, sheathing her blade and approaching them. She then stopped and bowed to them. "I am honored to assist, Prince Marth, Ike," she looked at Mario, "And of course the legendary Mario."

Luigi had no reaction to going unnoticed, but Roy became flustered. "H-Hey, I-"

"You came at a bad time," Ike said, cutting Roy off, much to the red-haired warrior's disdain. "Seems we've got a bit of a problem."

Marth looked up at the vortex, which seemed to have stopped expanding, though it had already grown several-times larger than when it first appeared. "There were more of those things than the ones that landed here. We need to-"

"Those are the least of your worries," came a new, deep, raspy voice. The six fighters turned, tensing up.

There, staring at them with a grenade in-hand, was none-other than Solid Snake himself, dawning his usual camo-gear.

"You... You're that weird guy from before," Ike stated.

"Weird guy, eh?" Snake fiddled with the pin of the grenade using his thumb. "Surely I'm more known than that."

Marth stepped forward. "Snake, what is going on here?"

"It's simple, pretty-boy: We're taking over this world," Snake explained. He nodded up towards the vortex. "Those things are just grunts to help us out, but they seem to do well enough."

"Damn you..." Roy stepped forth, sword at the ready, but Marth held out a hand, stopping him. "He's with the invaders! We have to stop him!"

"I think the Prince here knows exactly what's happening," Snake stated, pulling the pin on the grenade. He tossed it forward, though they watched as it fell into the pit rather than landing on the stage. "Whoops, guess that was a mistake." Snake shrugged, turning and taking out a metal, robot-like object. "Oh well, heh." He held the robot up above his head, and it began to float, taking it with him.

From below, deep within the Midair Stadium, the grenade exploded, setting off a chain of explosions that continued up the pit, heading towards the stage at a rapid pace...

Eventually enveloping the stadium in flames.

* * *

**Meanwhile...**

In the heart of the Emerald Forest, Little Mac, Lucas, and Jigglypuff stared down the large, green Pokemon Rayquaza that was in front of them.

However, an explosion in the distance made them all perk up and look towards the west. The three fighters watched in shock as the Midair Stadium exploded into a brilliant ball of fire, no longer visible. The floating stadium began to fall from the sky like a fiery meteor.

"No... It can't be," Lucas said, mostly to himself.

"Was anybody over there?" Little Mac looked to Lucas, who was too saddened to answer, then looked to Jigglypuff who nodded. The boxer sighed. "Then I guess I've got no choice." He turned towards Rayquaza, raising a glove to him. "Hey! You!" Rayquaza turned his attention back to the fighters. "Why not give us a lift over to-"

The Pokemon roared at them, cutting Little Mac off, making Lucas and Jigglypuff jump in surprise.

"I-I don't think he'll listen," Lucas stated. "He's been upset ever since the invasion a few years ago..."

"Then we'll make him listen," Little Mac stated. Before Lucas could stop him, Little Mac got low and rushed in towards Rayquaza at a quick speed. The Pokemon looked down and struck with its large, snake-like mouth. Expecting this, Little Mac rolled to the side, then leaped onto the Pokemon's head. Rayquaza began to thrash about, its tail crashing through the trees. "Hop on," Little Mac told the other two, delivering some blows to Rayquaza's head, making it even more enraged.

Jigglypuff, seizing the opportunity, jumped up and floated over to Rayquaza, landing on its back. She then motioned for Lucas to come as well. The boy nervously watched Rayquaza's tail, waiting for a chance to rush in. He eventually took the chance, running forward, but Rayquaza's tail suddenly slammed into him from the side.

Rayquaza quickly flew up into the air. Jigglypuff looked around, wondering where Lucas had gone. Then, she noticed that he was hanging onto Rayquaza's tail for dear life, and she let out a sigh of relief.

"Come on now, just do as I-" Little Mac was cut off as Rayquaza suddenly began to spin. Jigglypuff and Lucas were shaken off immediately, but Little Mac continued to hold on, though his grip too subsided as his gloves were unable to hold on very tightly. The three fell into the river below. As Little Mac surfaced, he spat out some of the water, looking around until he saw the other two nearby. "So much for that plan..."

Up above, Rayquaza, looked down at them, furious. The Pokemon opened its mouth wide, a blue sphere of energy beginning to form in front of it.

"That's not good!" Lucas began to paddle away, and Jigglypuff and Little Mac followed suit...

Then, nearby, something flew out of the trees. The three looked up to see the orange, winged Pokemon Charizard soaring up towards Rayquaza, leaving a trail of fire behind it. On its back was the Pokemon Trainer.

Lucas smiled, raising a fist into the air. "Yeah!"

They watched as the Pokemon Trainer slowly stood atop Charizard as it flew up to Rayquaza. The green snake Pokemon looked at the two coming his way, turning its attention to them, charging its attack...

"Come on, let's stop this," the Pokemon Trainer said, pulling out a Pokeball.

"What's he doing? He must be pretty strong if he can take that thing on," Little Mac said.

"He's going to catch it," Lucas stated in amazement.

However, the Pokemon Trainer merely held the Pokeball forward. "Return!" As he exclaimed this, a red beam shot out from the Pokeball, hitting Rayquaza. The Pokemon roared as it began to turn into a white energy of sort, shrinking down until it finally transferred over to the Pokeball., vanishing. The Pokemon Trainer looked down at the Pokeball, which shook around a bit before calming.

"That was too easy," Little Mac muttered. Jigglypuff and Lucas exchanged glances, shrugging, unsure themselves.

* * *

The three fighters sat around the river bed, drying themselves off with the help of Charizard who sat in the middle of them, his natural radiating heat assisting in the matter.

The Pokemon Trainer returned from the forest, holding a few large, spotted pear-like berries. "Here, these Sitrus Berries will make you feel better," he stated, handing them out to the three, and then one to Charizard as well.

"Jiggly~!" Jigglypuff graciously began to chow down on the berry, and Charizard ate his in one bite. Lucas and Little Mac gazed at the berry, a bit wary.

"See? The Pokemon like it," the Pokemon Trainer said, nodding to the two.

Deciding to brave it, Lucas and Little Mac brought the berry to their mouths, taking a small bite... Only to instantly spit it out at its remarkably sour taste.

"Ehh, I guess living with Pokemon, I got used to it," the trainer said with a laugh.

"So, what was with that thing back there? Rayquaza, or whatever," Little Mac asked, wiping his mouth and holding the berry up into the air, which Charizard gladly grabbed and devoured.

"Well, I caught Rayquaza a few years back," the Pokemon Trainer stated, taking the Pokeball out from his bag and showing them. "I figured it'd be useful in case something bad ever happened again, but I let it live in the forest while its unneeded."

"So that's why it's so angry," Lucas commented, passing his berry over to Jigglypuff as she finished hers. She gladly took it, smiling and beginning to eat it. The Pokemon Trainer nodded, smiling apologetically.

"Yeah... Sorry about that. I can't really control it myself," he admitted.

"Well, what now?" Little Mac looked over towards the sky where the Midair Stadium no longer was. "Seems like there's danger around every corner here."

"I saw everything," the Pokemon Trainer said, shaking his head. "I don't know what's going on, but-"

"I know who can help."

**To Be Continued...**

**Next Chapter: The Saviors**


	4. Chapter Four - The Savior

**Chapter Four**

**The Savior**

_**A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates! I kind of found myself at a stand-still for this chapter, but I eventually got through it. Hopefully there won't be a very big gap between this and the next chapter! Please Enjoy!~~**_

* * *

In the plains far below where the Mid-Air Stadium once was, chaos ensued.

Many who had been watching, or those who had fled before the stadium's destruction, were rounded up by the wire-frames, herded together amongst the ruins of the fallen arena. Most of those captured were ordinary inhabitants of the Trophy World who did not fight. However...

In the center of the destruction, they gazed upon four trophies that were being taken out from the debris. Marth... Mario... Luigi... Ike... The sight of these heroes blanketed them in fear.

On the outer edge of the wreckage, some of the debris began to move. A few of the wire-frames around it instantly turned, scanning it.

"**Life detected,**" they stated in unison, approaching the rubble...

However, from another nearby pile of scrap, someone emerged. By the time the clones began turned towards it, they were sliced in half, turning into a purple mist.

It was Lucina. She ducked, looking around to make sure none of the other invaders had seen her. From the debris pile that had moved before, a hand emerged, pushing a lot of it out of the way, eventually showing Roy beneath it.

"Gah!... I'd rather be turned back into a trophy than have to feel this," the warrior said exasperatedly.

Lucina quickly dashed over to him, putting a hand over his mouth. Roy was surprised by this, not noticing her until she was in front of him. He muttered something from beneath her hand.

"Stay quiet," Lucina whispered. "We won't make it out of here unless you listen to me."

Roy nodded, and Lucina moved her hand away.

"I just wanted to say-"

Lucina butted the hilt of her blade against Roy's forehead, making him stop. He gasped, holding his head, cursing her under his breath.

"Come on, let's-" Before Lucina could finish, rapid footsteps could be heard coming from behind. She turned, slicing her blade horizontally towards the attacker, who expertly somersaulted over the blade. As they passed over, Lucina got a good look at who it was...

It was a man dawning a blue-and-gold outfit and a red helmet with a black visor. He smirked as he sailed overhead, landing behind the two warriors.

Lucina turned and thrust her blade towards him, but he delivered an expert parry by kicking upward, his leg platelet knocking Lucina's sword back, leaving her open to an attack. The fighter reared his arm back and it began to glow with energy...

Luckily, Roy, who had watched the lightning-fast exchanges on his back, quickly jumped up, slicing towards the helmeted man, who was forced to leap away to avoid the attack. Roy and Lucina stood, their blades at the ready, staring their assailant down...

"Captain Falcon?! We're not the enemies here," Roy exclaimed.

"He's _the_ Captain Falcon?" Lucina looked over their attacker. "A worthy opponent indeed."

The Captain grinned motioned with his hand. "Come on," he stated exclaimed, "Show me your moves!"

"Something's up... First Snake, now the Captain?" Roy shook his head in disbelief.

"We can't think about that right now," Lucina stated. "Focus on the fight at hand." Roy nodded in understanding.

The two warriors pointed their swords toward Captain Falcon, then ran forward and struck in-sync...

* * *

**Meanwhile...**

The Pokemon Trainer led his fellow fighters through the Emerald Forest, reaching the deeper, darker parts that allowed very little sunlight through the overhead brush.

"I-It's pretty dark in here," Lucas said, looking around nervously, staying extra close to Little Mac in front of him.

"I can feel you breathing back there, let up a bit," the boxer said over his shoulder.

"S-Sorry..." Lucas trailed a bit further behind. Jigglypuff moved to Lucas's side for comfort, and Lucas smiled at her.

"So who is it that we're looking for, exactly?" Little Mac swatted away some branches that were in his way. "Sheesh, now I know how it feels to be tall," he muttered, glancing over at his short comrades.

"Pikachu," The Pokemon Trainer stated. "He'll be a great asset for us."

"Jiggly!" Jigglypuff seemed happy to hear its fellow Pokemon mentioned.

"After all the commotion started, he fled into this part of the forest to hide," Pokemon Trainer explained as he pushed through some branches that were in his way. "I tried to find him, but it's way too dark in here."

From behind the group, a light emitted bright enough to illuminate a small area around them. They looked back, seeing Lucas standing there, the tip of his right-hand's pointer finger glowing, held up in front of him.

"That's useful!" Pokemon Trainer gave him a thumbs up.

"What about that Pokemon of yours. Surely he could light the way," Little Mac pointed out.

"If you want the whole forest burning down, I guess... But there's still Pokemon that live here," the Pokemon Trainer said. "So we'd probably want to avoid that."

"...What happened to Squirtle...And Ivysaur?" Lucas stepped towards the Pokemon Trainer. "Were they taken already?"

The Pokemon Trainer was silent for a moment, looking away from the light. The three fighters exchanged glances.

"It's-" _Rustle rustle rustle,_ came a sound from nearby, making the Pokemon Trainer stop and hold up a hand for them to stay still. They looked around the dark forest. Lucas moved his light slowly around in an attempt to see... And he was able to make something out behind them.

It was a jagged, yellow tail, sticking out of some dark bushes.

Lucas took a step towards it. "...Pikachu?"

From the bushes, Pikachu pushed its face out slowly, glaring at them. A bit of static traveled along its red cheeks.

"Hey now, we're friends," Little Mac stated, holding his gloved-hands in the air innocently and taking a step towards the Pokemon.

"That's not the best idea," Pokemon Trainer stated, making the boxer stop. "He doesn't know you at all."

The mouse Pokemon looked at Lucas, Jigglypuff, Little Mac, then at the Pokemon Trainer. Upon seeing him, Pikachu's electrical current fluctuated out of its cheeks greatly.

"Pikaaaa!" The mouse Pokemon slowly stepped out of the bushes, approaching them.

"Jigglypuff!" The pink puff Pokemon stepped forward, motioning to Pikachu to calm it down. "Jigglyyyyy~!"

Pikachu paid her no mind. Little Mac noticed its gaze, and realized... It was looking straight at the Pokemon Trainer.

"Why is it-" Little Mac was cut off as the Pokemon Trainer suddenly made a move, producing a Master Ball from his pouch and tossing it forward with a smooth, sideways throw. The other three fighters watched in surprise as it traveled over to Pikachu, who expertly darted out to the side to avoid it, then ran straight for the Pokemon Trainer.

"Not this time!" The trainer pulled out a hexagonal-object from pocket and held it forward. From it, a blue shield emitted outward, hitting Pikachu as it came near, sending it flying back.

"That's... Foxes," Lucas realized, confused.

Pikachu landed up in a tree, and quickly recovered. The Pokemon Trainer took out a Pokeball and pressed the button in the center, releasing a bright light that began to form into Charizard. The fire Pokemon roared as it emerged.

"W-What are you doing? Stop this!" Lucas took a step forward.

"Stay back," the Pokemon Trainer stated, giving them a serious look.

"Hmph, looks like we've been had," Little Mac stated, getting into a battle-ready stance.

Charizard took notice of this and quickly spun around, sending its powerful tail their way. The three were hit and sent flying through the forest. Little Mac crashed into a tree, while Jigglypuff and Lucas, more light-weight, were able to recover in mid-air and slide across the ground, turning back towards the scene.

"Why is he doing this?" Lucas watched with saddened eyes as Charizard leaped up towards Pikachu, swiping at it. He missed, but slashed right through the tree the Pokemon had been on.

"I don't know, but..." Little Mac got up from the tree wreckage, wincing at the pain. "I'm not going to stand here and watch this happen!"

The Pokemon Trainer looked to his left, seeing the three running back to where the battle was happening.

"...Why couldn't you just stay away?" The Pokemon Trainer dipped his hat down, shaking his head. "Charizard! Turn everything to ash!"

The orange, winged Pokemon dodged an oncoming thunderbolt from Pikachu, then leaped up into the sky, soaring above the trees. There, he hovered, rearing his head back, inhaling deeply...

The three fighters stopped as they saw this.

"Run!" Little Mac turned and sprinted away, with Jigglypuff and Lucas following behind.

Lucas looked back over his shoulder as Charizard unleashed his flames upon the forest, turning it into a burning hell. The flames traveled through the forest in an incredibly fast wave, gaining on the three fighters instantly.

"Man... Hold on!" Little Mac spun around, grabbed hold of the two smaller fighters, then turned back and continued running, sprinting as fast as he could...

Lucas and Jigglypuff gazed behind them. Through the flames, the silhouette of the Pokemon Trainer could be seen still standing there... Though eventually, that too was drowned out by the flames and smoke.

Eventually, Little Mac reached a cliff. And, with no other choice, he leapt off...

But there was no water down below. Just an empty valley of hard stone.

"This was a bad idea!" He let go of the other two fighters, flailing in an attempt to stop himself.

Jigglypuff faced upward and exhaled, flattening herself and propelling herself faster to the ground. Once she reached the ground she landed with ease, as light as a feather. Just as Little Mac and Lucas reached the ground, she puffed back out, increasing her size a bit as she did, giving them a soft landing. The two bounced off of her and landed nearby.

"Ugh... Thanks. That was some quick thinking," Little Mac said, nodding to Jigglypuff, who smiled, a bit dazed from them landing on her.

Lucas sat up, wiping some of the dust off of himself, then gazed up at the flame cloud as it dispersed. The cloud above that part of the Emerald Forest began to turn to a dark gray haze from all of the smoke.

"Seems like nothing's in order right now," Little Mac stated, walking over to Lucas and sitting beside him, letting out an exasperated sigh, his legs exhausted. "We don't know who we can trust and who we can't trust."

"Yeah..." Lucas looked down at the ground solemnly.

Little Mac patted him on the back with his glove. Lucas looked over at him. The boxer grinned at him.

"Don't get too down. I need you to help me beat these guys," he stated. Jigglypuff came over to them, puffing out angrily. "And you too!" Little Mac patted her head, and she smiled.

"Of course... It's just..." Lucas shook his head. "How could he betray us?"

"I'm sure he has his reasons," Little Mac stated, leaning back, then cradling up to his feet. He started to do some arm and leg stretches. "Just like we have our reasons to fight."

Lucas began to think that notion over. Jigglypuff bounced over to him, and he looked up at her. She patted his head, smiling. Lucas blushed a bit and gave a small smile.

"You're right," the boy said, slowly getting to his feet. "Thanks..."

"The question is..." Little Mac looked around the valley they were in. "Where do we go, and what's our goal?"

"W-Well, there should be others out there who want to fight with us," Lucas said, looking over at Jigglypuff, who nodded in agreement.

"Right. Then were are we headed, Captain?" Lucas was taken aback by this, and Little Mac laughed. "Don't get flustered so easily, kid!"

The three exchanged well-needed, spirit-raising laugh... Unaware of the wicked figure that stood at the top of the valley, staring down at them, a Master Ball in his hand with the successfully captured Pikachu inside...

* * *

Lucina was thrown back into a pile of rubble. She quickly recovered, but Roy was suddenly thrown into her, sending her right back into the rubble.

"S-Sorry," Roy said, getting off of her, groaning. She got out, and they both raised their swords weakly at Captain Falcon, who was smirking at them, his arms crossed. "Man... I knew he was one of the Original Twelve, but this is ridiculous; we can't touch him!

"There's no way I came here just to be defeated like this," Lucina muttered, glaring at their opponent. She kicked off of the rubble, running at Captain Falcon quickly, her blade lowered close to the ground. "I'll prove myself! Right here-"

"_Dancing Blade!_"

As she reached her opponent, Lucina swung her blade upward, a blue trail following in its wake, the air currents around them pulsating from the power. Roy watched on in amazement.

Captain Falcon was too fast for such an attack, side-stepping the strike. Lucina followed up immediately with a horizontal, red slash which the racer ducked. Finally, she brought her sword down in a powerful, green arc...

But the Captain brought his right fist up in a flurry of fire, striking the tip of the blade, parrying it up into the air, leaving Lucina shocked and open for attack. The pilot quickly followed-up by leaping forth, kneeing Lucina in the chin, sending her up into the air. The force of the hit caused her to drop her blade as she flew through the air.

"Lucina!" Roy ran forward to help, watching as Captain Falcon reared his fist above her, and it began to glow with an intense flame...

Then, in that moment, a bright light shone down from the sky, landing between Roy and the other two fighters, blinding them all. Captain Falcon aborted his attack, forcing himself to the ground and backing away from the light.

From the light, a figure caught Lucina in their arms before she hit the ground. The warrior gasped at the pain, and slowly looked up at her savior...

As the light began to dissipate, Lucina could make out their green hair with a golden headdress, their fair skin and elegant green eyes, as well as the blue wings of light that floated behind her.

Roy looked on in disbelief. "I-Is it really you? Palutena? I've only heard of you in the legends!"

"That's _Lady _Palutena to you," came another voice. Roy took notice of Pit, who was standing beside the goddess, his ancient bow at the ready.

"Now now, Pit, that's no way to treat your friends," Palutena spoke. The angel pouted, muttering some words as he turned towards Captain Falcon. The green-haired goddess gazed down at Lucina, who was still staring up at her. "Are you... alright?"

Lucina became flustered for a moment, quickly hopping out of the goddess's arms. She cleared her throat, bowing to her.

"T-Thank you... I don't think we've had a chance to meet. I am-"

"Hey, hey! This isn't time for formalities," Pit exclaimed to them, looking around nervously at all of the wire-frames that began to gather around.

"Right..." Lucina stood, looking around for her blade, noticing it sticking into the ground beside Captain Falcon. She moved close to the others, thinking of a way to retrieve it.

Pit readied one of his blue, light arrows, pointing it towards some of the wire-frames. He then watched as the Luigi wire-frame suddenly began to morph and shape itself, eventually turning into a gray clone of Pit himself.

"W-What is this?!" Pit looked around as many more of the wire-frames followed suit, soon becoming only clones of Roy, Pit, and even Captain Falcon.

"It seems they are copying those who have fought here before," Palutena stated, facing towards the smug Captain Falcon. "Luckily for us, we have two whom are newcomers." She glanced towards Lucina.

"I'm not of much use without my blade," Lucina stated.

Palutena smiled at her, taking her off-guard a bit. "I'm sure you can manage," she spoke. Lucina nodded.

"Don't worry, I've got your back," Roy stated, moving beside Lucina. "You know, I-" Lucina glanced down at Roy's sword and suddenly grabbed it from him, taking him by surprise. "Hey, what the-!"

"I'm only borrowing it," Lucina stated, giving the sword a few swings. "After all, we're the only two who can fight these things." She and Palutena took a step forward, ready to face off against their opponents.

Captain Falcon seemed eager for the challenge, rearing his head back and letting out a yell, flames emerging from his body. The wire-frames, taking that as a signal to attack, leaped into battle...

And thus, the fight truly began.

* * *

**To Be Continued...**

**Next Chapter: Fateful Encounters**


	5. Chapter Five - Fateful Encounters

**Chapter Five**

**Fateful Encounters**

* * *

Over half of the once, lusciously green Emerald Forest had now been reduced to ashes, the ground scarred and blackened. As the flames started to subside, many black clumps could be found, strewn about the forest...

The bodies of Pokemon, once living peacefully in their home.

Pokemon Trainer tightened the grip on the Master Ball in his right hand as he gazed down from atop the cliff at the three fighters who had eluded him, resting far below. Tears began to well up in his eyes, streaming down his cheeks.

_Was it all worth it?_ He thought.

He reached down with his free hand, grasping Charizard's Pokeball at his side... It was warm to the touch.

_Can I ever face my Pokemon again?_

Solemnly, Pokemon Trainer put the Master Ball way, and then pulled out Rayquaza's Pokeball, holding it forward.

_At least you won't judge me..._

Suddenly, a noise made Pokemon Trainer look to his right. There, a mysterious, black, disk-shaped object was flying straight towards their location. Unsure of what it was, Pokemon Trainer quickly put Rayquaza's Pokeball away and ran into the burnt woods to hide...

* * *

"Alright, the Mid-Air Stadium it is," Little Mac stated, reaffirming their plan of action. He rubbed his chin for a moment, a thought coming to his mind. "Though, I'm really not sure what we'll find there..."

"We'll never know unless we go," Lucas said.

"True enough." Little Mac shrugged and turned towards Jigglypuff, who was gazing off in the distance. "Hey, what's up?" He and Lucas followed her gaze...

Sure enough, a black disk could be seen coming their way.

"A UFO?!" Little Mac took a step back. "Is it too late to say that I hate the thought of aliens?"

"I-It's getting closer, fast," Lucas stated. "We should run."

"Just wait til it gets closer... We don't know what it is yet," Little Mac said, getting into a battle-ready position.

"Are you going to try and punch it?"

"Of course! I'm always willing to test my strength."

Lucas chuckled nervously. "...This is a little extreme though."

Jigglypuff tapped Lucas' shoulder, and pointed over towards a nearby rock formation. He nodded, and the two ran off towards it, taking cover behind it, just peeking out a bit to watch what was happening.

"Alright, come on..." Little Mac cracked his neck. Sweat began to form at his brow, watching as the mysterious object grew closer...

However, as the ship grew close, it suddenly began to pull up, flying straight over them. As it passed over them, four figures jumped down from it, taking Little Mac by surprise. They quickly descended to the ground, landing on different sides of the boxer, surrounding him, kicking up dust from their fall.

"Now this is more of a challenge!" Little Mac hit his gloves together in anticipation... But, as the dust began to clear he could make out one of the newcomers in front of him. "...Hey, are you Donkey-"

Before Little Mac could finish, none-other than Donkey Kong jumped forward, punching at him with his right arm. The boxer was able to weave to the side to avoid it, and then bring his left glove forward for a quick jab... But DK responded quickly by spinning to the right, his punching hand slamming into the side of Little Mac's glove and parrying the strike. Little Mac, defenseless and off-balance, could only watch as Donkey Kong's left fist soared towards him...

Luckily, Lucas suddenly leaped onto the scene, appearing between Little Mac and DK in a flash, taking advantage of his small structure. He pointed his finger down at DK's feet, and it began to glow. From it, he fired several bursts of PSI Energy, which exploded upwards, shooting the ape into the air.

DK recovered quickly, landing back onto the ground, and took a step forward, ready to fight some more- However, the other three arrivals leaped in front of him to stop him, facing towards Little Mac and Lucas.

"Whoa... It can't be," Lucas said in disbelief.

Little Mac, equally surprised, pointed his glove at the three. "Y-You're-"

"Mega Man... Sonic... Pac-Man," Lucas finished for him, looking over the blue-armored robot, the yellow-ball of a man, and the famous blue hedgehog himself.

"Sorry for being slow to the party," Sonic said with a cheeky smirk.

"He already broke out the speed joke," Little Mac muttered, face-palming with his glove.

DK scratched his head, looking at Little Mac. He then looked at the other three in front of him and shrugged, moving his head to the side, a signature questioning move of his.

"Oh, right- I'm new here... I'm-" Before Little Mac could finish, Mega Man interrupted him.

"We know who you are," Mega Man stated. "We've been collecting information, so that we can save everyone from this attack."

"Really? I'm so glad..." Lucas let out a sigh of relief. "This makes things a lot easier."

"What _is _happening? So far, it's been a giant cluster of information that I just can't wrap my head around," Little Mac said, rubbing the back of his head, reflecting on the events that happened before.

"It's tough to explain... You should come with us," Mega Man said, looking over at Pac-Man and Sonic for confirmation, who both nodded. He then looked back at DK, who seemed to be distracted by something.

DK was looking over to their left, noticing the pink puffball that is Jigglypuff slowly making her way over to them. He let out an apish grunt and quickly ran over to her, scooping her up into his arms, giving her a large bear(/monkey) hug.

"J-Jiggly..." It was hard for the Pokemon to breathe in the embrace.

"What's up with him?" Little Mac motioned towards DK.

"Well, they are one of the original twelve," Sonic pointed out. "All of us are pretty new ya' know."

DK let go of Jigglypuff, who was a bit deflated for a moment before puffing back up, letting out a sigh of relief and smiling up at the ape. She then turned towards the rest of the group, looking over at Little Mac and Lucas, confused.

"It's alright... They're here to help," Lucas said, nodding to the three, who returned the gesture.

Mega Man raised his right arm, which was befitted with his famous Mega Buster, and fired off a blue tube-like missile into the air. After traveling above the valley, it erupted into bright, colorful lights of various colors. Seeing this, their disc-shaped ship suddenly flew into view, approaching them slowly, floating down towards them, stopping and floating in the middle of the valley.

"We'll take you to where you need to be, then we'll part ways," Mega Man stated, turning towards the ship as a door opened up on its side.

"B-But, can't we help?" Lucas looked up at Little Mac, who shrugged.

"As long as we get back to the Midair Stadium fast, I see nothin' wrong with it," the boxer said. He playfully tapped Lucas on the head with his glove. "It'll be fine, I'm sure."

Lucas nodded, following Little Mac towards the ship. Mega Man leaped up into the open doorway. DK motioned towards his back to Jigglypuff, who hopped onto it. He then jumped upwards, grabbing onto the open doorway, clambering inside.

"Go ahead," Sonic said, motioning for Little Mac and Lucas to step up.

"I'm not so sure about this... The air game's not my thing," Little Mac said with a nervous chuckle

"Well, the ship can't get any lower with these rocks around us," Sonic said. "Here." From seemingly out of nowhere, the blue hedgehog produced a red spring of sorts. He then saluted to Little Mac. "Try and keep up!" With that, he, followed by Pac-Man, hopped on the spring and shot up towards the open doorway of the ship.

"I swear, those speed jokes," Little Mac said, shaking his head.

Lucas hopped on the spring, laughing happily as he reached the doorway. He turned and looked down at Little Mac. "Come on!"

"Alright, alright," the boxer said, bracing himself before running forward and stepping on the spring-

But, as soon as he did, it vanished, despawning, and he fell face-first onto the ground.

"Don't mention this, ever," Little Mac muttered.

* * *

The wreckage of the Midair Stadium was a chaotic scene. Wire-Frame clones and debris were tossed about by explosions and clashes of powers.

Captain Falcon side-stepped a clone that was sent flying his way, grinning over at Lady Palutena as she raised her staff into the air, creating pillars of light that sent several of the Wire-Frames flying. Pit was facing away from her, firing his bow at more of the oncoming opponents, while Lucina and Roy were taking turns tossing Roy's blade to each other as they sliced through many of the Wire-Frames.

Taking advantage of the moment, the Captain rushed in, his blazing right fist reared back and ready to strike Lady Palutena.

Pit noticed this and turned, but he wasn't quick enough as Captain Falcon brought his fist upward towards Palutena. Suddenly, the goddess vanished, warping over to where Captain Falcon had been before. Pit let out a sigh of relief, but was greeted instantly by a kick by the Captain, sending him flying off into a crowd of clones.

Palutena pulled Lucina's blade out from the ground and pointed it towards Captain Falcon, who was approaching the two sword-fighters from behind.

"_Auto-Reticle_," the goddess whispered. A mysterious, green targeting marker appeared from above Captain Falcon and floated down to his back. The veteran fighter, sensing this, quickly turned... But it was too late, as the blade flew from Palutena's hand, a heavenly aura guiding it, striking the Captain in the chest, creating a large spark of power as it sent him soaring up into the sky, disappearing in a bright star pattern.

Lucina and Roy looked up in awe. The blade sailed through the air a ways, and Lucina quickly leaped up, grabbing it, then slammed down onto a few of the Wire-Frames.

"...That's better," she said, giving her blade a few swings.

Palutena looked around the battlefield, eventually spotting Pit in a crowd of Wire-Frames...

But he was a trophy.

Roy and Lucina moved over to Palutena's side. "Oh no... We have to go get him!" Roy took a step forward, but Palutena extended her staff, stopping him.

"It's no use. They can stop us from turning back," the goddess stated. The three started to walk backwards as the Wire-Frames seemed to multiply before their eyes, amassing into an ever-growing group of Pit, Roy, Luigi, Mario, Marth, and Ike clones.

"Then what do we do?!"

"Fight," Lucina stated, pointing her blade towards their foes and rearing it back. "It's all we can do!"

Suddenly, a shadow cast over them. The three looked up to see a large, disc-shaped object floating above them.

"What's this now?!" Roy let out a groan.

A door opened up on the side of the ship. There, two figures stood, prominent. All was silent for a moment.

"Is that-" Before Roy could finish, one of the figures lifted their hand in the air, and a variety of 8-pit fruit began to appear, changing until it finally settled upon an Apple. "Pac-Man?!"

Pac-Man winked, and, suddenly, everyone realized that the person who was beside him was missing, slipping away while they were distracted.

A streak of blue ran through the Wire-Frame clones, sending many of them flying. The three fighters turned to see none-other than Sonic the Hedgehog sliding to a halt nearby.

"Great distraction, they didn't see it coming," Sonic said smugly.

However, some of the Wire-Frames nearby stood back up, and began to change, reforming into Sonic clones. "**GOTTA GO FAST,**" they spoke in unison, their legs moving at incredible speeds as they prepared to rush at him.

"Uh oh. I'll be back in a flash!" Sonic nodded to the three before turning and running off, followed quickly by the Sonic clones.

"Well...That just happened," Roy said.

Pac-Man jumped down beside them, tossing the 8-bit apple into his mouth, devouring it in a second. He then motioned up towards the ship.

"Right! Lets-" Roy stopped as Palutena suddenly grabbed hold of him and Lucina, one under each arm, and ascended up into the air, her wings of light appearing on her back. "T-Thanks," Roy said as she set them down in the ship.

Palutena didn't respond. She turned around to look below, gazing over at Pit in his trophy form.

Pac-Man, seeing her gaze, gave her a thumbs-up and rushed over to where the trophy was... However, several dark orbs of energy began to rush past him, making him come to a halt. The dark-purple orbs overcame Pit's statue, enveloping it.

"Shadow bugs?!" Roy was shocked by this. Lucina was confused. "It can only mean-"

"Tabuu," Palutena said solemnly. "So he has returned..."

Pac-Man got into a battle-ready position. Sonic suddenly ran onto the scene, joining him, just in time to watch as Pit seemed to emerge from the shadow bugs...

Except he was different now. His hair, outfit, and wings were black, his eyes became a dull red.

"Dark Pit?... No, he seems way more powerful than before," Palutena stated. "Quick. We must leave!" Palutena tapped her staff against the floor of the ship to catch the attention of the two fighters below.

Sonic and Pac-Man exchanged glances. "Well, we did what we had to do," Sonic stated. Pac-Man nodded and leaped up towards the ship entrance. Sonic followed suit, springing up to it.

"There's no escaping," Dark Pit growled, raising his Silver Bow, drawing a dark-red arrow, glowing with an intense aura of energy.

Everyone moved away from the door, and the ship began to take off. Palutena watched Dark Pit closely as his arrow grew bigger and more powerful.

"Lady Palutena!" Lucina took a step towards her. "You should move away."

"Please," Palutena stated, looking over her shoulder and smiling. "Just call me 'Palutena'."

In that moment, Dark Pit unleashed his powerful arrow, which roared through the sky, faster than the ship could move, catching up in an instant. Palutena held her staff forward, creating an amber-colored barrier in front of the ship. The arrow hit, and Palutena struggled, holding up the barrier.

"We're taking off! Hold on," Mega Man exclaimed from the controls, flipping some switches, then pushing forward on the throttle. The ship's thrusters shot out an intense amount of energy, flying off through the sky, leaving a sonic boom in its wake.

Palutena was shaken by the thrust, starting to fall through the doorway. Luckily, Lucina grabbed hold of her and pulled her away. Pac-Man pressed the button to close the door. Palutena landed on top of Lucina, who grunted in pain.

"Oh my, buy me a drink first," Palutena said, winking down at Lucina. She got off of the sword-fighter and turned towards a few others who were also in the ship: Little Mac, Lucas, Jigglypuff, and Donkey Kong. "I see a lot of you have gathered here..."

"L-Lady Palutena? I've heard a lot about you," Lucas said, dipping his head to her. Jigglypuff followed suit. Little Mac, not catching on, stepped forward, extending a hand. Lucas and Jiggs became flustered. "H-Hey, don't-"

But Palutena smiled and shook his gloved hand. "You must be this Little Mac I've heard about."

"Really? I must be getting pretty famous," Little Mac said cheekily.

"Well, I have been watching all of you for a very long time. I can see everything from Sky World," Palutena stated, looking around. "I just couldn't stop myself from coming down to help."

"We're lucky that you came when you did," Lucina said to her, giving a polite bow. "But for your follower..."

"Pit will be fine," Palutena stated, closing her eyes. "...He's been through worse."

"What's the plan now?" Little Mac shot a glance over to DK, who just shrugged and grunted.

"We're taking you guys somewhere safe, then we're heading off to see what we can do," Mega Man stated from the pilot's seat. "This Strike Team was made to counter-act any threats to our world, ever since the first Subspace invasion."

Little Mac sighed. "You _still_ won't let us help?"

"It'll be better for all of you if you get to safety, and find others to join you," Mega Man said. "We're nearing the Gaurr Plains now..."

"What will you do, Lady- Er, Palutena?" Roy joined the group. "We could use your intel from above."

Palutena set a hand on her chin in thought. "While that would be quite helpful... I think I'm best staying where I am. Especially with Dark Pit running around."

"Sounds good to me," Little Mac said, starting to do some stretches.

"Heads up guys! Looks like there's a lot of those clones waiting in the Gaur Plains already," Sonic told them, pointing at the blipping radar in front of him.

"Great, more practice," the boxer said, throwing a few jabs through the air. "Let's do it!"

The door opened, and Little Mac, Palutena, Lucina, Roy, Jigglypuff, and Lucas all turned towards it, getting ready.

"Good luck," Mega Man told them.

"You'll need it more than us," Palutena retorted, taking the lead by soaring out of the open ship door. She was followed by Lucina and Roy, then Jigglypuff and Little Mac.

Before Lucas followed suit, DK approached him. The ape pointed towards the door, and made some noises.

Lucas looked towards the door, then back at DK. "Jigglypuff? Got it," Lucas said, nodding in understanding before running and leaping out of the ship to join his fellow fighters...

* * *

**To be continued...**

**Next Chapter: First Strike – Pt. I**


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